The Engagement
by captndevil
Summary: Drabble based on recent spoilers. Henry is the first one that Killian talks to when the boy accidently finds a ring Killian has hidden. Killian then sets up on receiving David's blessing, before he pops the question. What will they both say? Canon, post 6A.
1. Missing You

**a new mini ficlet i decided to write based on new spoilers. there will be around four parts. the first one is surrounded around killian and henry, the next will be snowing and henry, and then we'll get on to emma coming back to storybrooke. will be finished for the premiere of 6b, i promise! hope you all enjoy!**

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Henry is the first person he speaks to about it, funnily enough, and it's almost by accident when the lad brings it up himself.

It was after Regina had disappeared, after Emma, and he wished he was the one that had gone after, more than anything, but the queen didn't give anyone much say in anything. She claimed that she could be the one to bring her back. Honestly, he just thinks that she wants to disappear for a while. And more than anything, he just wants Emma back. He wants to know that she's okay, that she's happy and safe.

He just wants her.

So, he takes to making sure Henry's okay, even if the boy's eyes seem to dull slightly every morning he realises his mother (or mothers, he supposed) were away. He makes sure the lad goes to school, despite Henry's complaints.

"But, Killian-"

"No buts, lad. Do you think your mother would let you have the day off school?"

Henry's lips press together as Killian's head tips to the side, clearly not answering.

"Exactly," Killian murmurs, but the haunting look is still there in the lad's eyes, and he finds himself hesitating slightly, as he hands the lad the breakfast he'd made. Pancakes, since he was told fish was not an appropriate breakfast for a growing boy. "I'll come get you, if we hear anything."

Henry's lips seem to wobble slightly, and Killian can't imagine what it feels like to think you'd lost two mothers in one day.

"Promise?"

Killian thinks he feels himself welling up too, but he knows he needs to remain strong, he had promised Swan once upon a time that he'd take care of Henry, if anything had happened to her, and whilst he knows she's alive, and she's going to come back to him, he intends on keeping that promise, and all, he'd made to her.

"I promise," he swears to the lad, and then, "She's going to come back, Henry. Both of them."

He doesn't think he's ever seen Henry so upset, "How do you know?"

Killian smiles.

"I know your mother. She's too strong-willed not to come back to you."

"And you," Henry murmurs.

"Aye."

He offers to walk Henry to school, or the stop, as Emma calls it, but Henry shakes his head.

"I'm not six, Killian," Henry admonishes him, and he laughs, rejoicing, in the Emma-like tone his voice takes.

"So you're not." A pause. "Call me if you need anything."

He's not quite sure he's doing this right, doesn't know how to do this. He knows he's not the lad's father, he would never try to replace Neal, but he'd like to think they'd come a long way from when Henry had yelled at him for finding the shears. He'd like to think he's something of a figure in Henry's life now, and that he can come to him. If he needs someone to talk to.

"I will."

Henry seems to be hesitating slightly before he walks out of the door, and it takes Killian a few seconds to notice.

"Something wrong, Henry?"

"No," the young boy protests almost instantly, but he seems to be sizing Killian up in a way that he hasn't before. "Not really."

Killian raises an eyebrow, "You sure about that?"

"It's just-" Henry sighs, before breaking himself off, shaking his head, and then starting again. "I was in your and mom's bedroom the other day," the boy says slowly.

Killian's eyebrows furrow, wondering what the hell the lad had found that had him this skittish.

"And I didn't mean to, I swear. I wasn't snooping or anything. I suppose I just wanted something of mom's for a while. It feels like it's been forever since she's been here, you know?" A pause, and then, "I found a box. I shouldn't have opened it, I know that, and mom always goes off on an invasion of privacy, but I did."

And suddenly Killian knows where his thoughts are at.

"You saw," the pirate states, almost dumbly.

Henry nods, and the boy's eyes are widened slightly, and his biting his bottom lip, as though he's afraid that he's going to get told off. Killian laughs under his breath slightly.

"It's fine, Henry." He pauses, "But maybe next time you can ask?"

Henry's eyes light up slightly, and he nods, "Yeah, I can do that."

"I have nothing to hide," Killian says slowly. "I'll always tell you the truth." Killian pauses again, and then, "What was the question? You looked as though you wanted to ask something."

"When were you planning on asking her?"

"I had a plan before the Evil Queen fiasco," Killian admitted, but then he shrugs. "Now, I'm not so sure. I suppose I should know better. Your mother has a way of seemingly always putting a halt on my plans." He chuckles under his breath, his hand running through his loose, dark locks.

"Oh." Then, "Does anyone else know?"

Killian hesitates slightly, before deciding to answer the lad, "I was going to talk to your grandfather, but I thought that perhaps your mother would like to talk with him instead." The, if she says yes goes unspoken between them. "She informed me that traditions are different in this realm, that asking for a daughter's hand is unspoken of."

Henry shrugs, "She is a princess."

Killian's head twists in his direction.

Henry sighs.

"Mom would never admit it," Henry says, "But I think she'd like to know gramps approved. Not that he won't," he cuts in, after seeing Killian's eyes widen. "And I think gramps would appreciate it. He did miss out on many of her milestones growing up. I know he regrets that a lot, even if he doesn't really talk about it. Probably make him feel part of something. I know he'll want to walk her down the aisle."

Killian smiles, his head tipping to the side.

"You think she'll say yes?"

Henry smiles knowingly at him, "I know she will."

He realises that Henry doesn't know it, but he's set his nerves at ease, "Perhaps it's time I talk with your grandfather."

Henry hums, before he turns around to take off for school.

"Oh, and Killian?"

Killian's head twists back in Henry's direction.

"What I said, about you not being..." he trails off slightly, before shooting the pirate a small smile. "Well, you're part of this family now. You don't need a ring to prove that," he pauses slightly, "but I'm glad you're going to be my stepdad."

He's not sure, but he's pretty sure he's just got Henry's blessing.

(He has a feeling David won't be quite as easy.)


	2. Hope Has A Place

**here, part two is! some more captain cobra and a little bit of captain charming for you all, with a small dash of captain snow. a big thanks to everyone who left lovely comments! part three should be out either tomorrow or tuesday. also, once sunday is officially a week, and hiatus is nearly over and our babies will be reunited soon, so yay!**

 **also, for those that have asked, you can find me on tumblr under the same username (captndevil).**

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Killian's taken to helping David out at the sheriff department, when Henry's at school, now that he's one person down (and that thought makes his heart sting), and that should make it rather simple to follow Henry's advice. Aside from the fact that, when he arrives on Tuesday morning, he's not exactly sure what to say exactly. So, he doesn't.

He goes about what has slowly become the usual. He helps David with some "paperwork" as the Prince puts it, and David tells him that Emma will probably be happy about it when she returns.

"And why's that, mate?"

"Emma's known for not exactly being fond of paperwork. Says she sees it pointless when she can be out chasing bad guys," David tells him.

If there ever was an opening for what he wanted to discuss, that was certainly one.

"Indeed." A pause. "Listen-"

He's soon cut off when Leroy comes stumbling into the station, about one problem or another. Honestly, Killian's long since learned to tune the dwarf out. But, still, he sighs, internally thinking of another time he can have the discussion he wants to with David.

"Killian?"

"Hm?"

He must have gotten too good at not paying attention.

"I said I'd go out to the docks to settle the... dispute," he almost looks amused, but Killian doesn't ask, merely twists his lips up slightly. "And Henry will be finishing school soon, will he not?"

His eyes flicker to the clock on the wall briefly, then back at the Prince, and he stands up.

"That he will, I should go back. I think he forgot his keys this morning."

"It's fine," David insists. "It's only a small issue. I'll finish that up, and I'll probably head home myself. You don't need to come back later."

Except, Killian sort of wants to. He sort of wants another opportunity, so he hesitates slightly.

"You sure?"

David smiles, almost knowingly, at him, and nods.

"Absolutely."

Killian sighs, but reaches for his jacket, twisting it around his shoulder.

"Fine, then I guess I'll be seeing you-"

"Actually," David cuts in, "Snow's been getting on at me, to ask you and Henry to dinner. She worries, you know. I think she wants to feel like she's doing something, since Emma's been... gone. And we know it hasn't been easy on you. Or Henry. So..." he trails off slightly, with a small smile, but he knows Emma's disappearance is hurting him too, not just Snow. "Dinner?"

"Dinner," he sighs.

"About 6," David supplies.

"Of course."

.

It's hard going back to the loft with Henry, without Emma, because she should be here. They should be going on dinner dates (as Emma had liked to put it), they should be staying in and watching netflix (still, something they'd not got around to doing a whole lot, but he knew Emma liked it). They should be together. She should be here.

He knew she was safe, and at least that counted for something. Right? He'd told Henry just as much the other night.

("How do you know?" Henry had insisted. "You can't know she's okay, for good."

And it's strange, seeing the pessimism on the young boy's face, when he was usually the one that had the most amount of hope, excluding his grandmother, of course.

"I just do, Henry," he'd said. "And I know she's going to come back to you. I promise you that much, lad."

"Us," Henry had corrected, and that little statement had made his heart soar.)

Still, he smiled, however grimly, as he walked to the loft, Henry in tow.

Henry seems to be in a better mood today, however.

"So," the boy drawls with such excitement in his tone, more so than he's heard from the lad in a while. "Did you talk to my gramps today?"

He should've known that Henry would bring the topic up, and he inwardly groans.

"No."

Confusion crosses over his face, "Why not?"

Killian hesitates slightly, and Henry pounces, the young lad too perceptive for his own good (ever like his mother, that one).

"You're nervous," he sing-songs.

Killian glares, albeit softly, "Hardly. There just wasn't time, and then Leroy-"

"Sounds like excuses to me," Henry tells him, and he can't help but agree, not that he tells him that. And then, "I suppose you'll have no issues talking with him tonight."

"Looks like it," Killian finds himself agreeing.

He doesn't get the chance to say much more, because the two of them are arriving at the loft, and Snow is there, with a bright smile on her face, when she spots the two of them.

"Henry, Killian," she grins, a slight twist of her lips that's eerily similar to the way Emma smiles when something's bothering her, "Killian. We're so happy you could make it. David was supposed to ask you to come to dinner a week ago-"

"I told you, Snow," said person groans, as he comes into view, with Neal attached to his hip, "I forgot. It was pretty busy-"

She snorts, and Killian's lips curl upwards, waving her hand.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you've said."

Then, she lets the two of them in, and Henry rushes forward to pick up his uncle, David handing the baby over with a smile, ushering the lad over to the couch. When he looks back at Snow, she's looking over at him, with something akin to concern. She lays her hand on the arm of his jacket, her fingers curling around his wrist.

"Really, Killian," she insists. "How are you?"

He almost smiles at the caring look on her face. Almost.

"I'm-" he sighs, breaking off, and he runs a hand through his hair. "I'm as good as you are, I imagine."

He sees her break slightly, her smile slipping slightly, and he swears she sniffles.

"I suppose," she murmurs. "But you have Henry to take care of."

"And you have a baby to take care of," he points out. "I imagine he takes far more looking after then Henry does." He coughs, "and I enjoy my time with the lad. We've entered in to something of a pattern, by now."

She seems almost sympathetic then.

"He's teething."

It was something Emma had mentioned, before she'd disappeared. That little Neal would probably start teething soon, and from what she'd said, he did not envy the parents.

"If you ever need anythin-"

She interrupts him rather quickly, her arms wrapping around him tightly, for a few brief moments. When she pulls away, she's wiping away her tears, and he frowns.

"Sorry," she laughs. "I've been a bit emotional lately. Probably from the lack of sleep," she muses. "But thank you, Killian. You should know the same. If you, or Henry, should ever need something, we're just a call away." And then, "You're family now. Whether my daughter is here or not."

He's not quite sure what to say to that, and he gulps, his own emotions the best of him.

"She will be," is what he says.

It's strange, isn't it? That he's the one giving out all these hope speeches. He's not quite sure what to make of it.

He receives one last smile, before Snow edges away.

Henry has excused himself by the time he walks over to David, taking a seat opposite the Prince, with a curious eyebrow.

"Bathroom," David says, by way of explanation.

"Ah."

There's a pause, and then Killian decides it's probably best to rip the band-aid off (another of Swan's sayings that she repeats a lot, when she wants to get over a situation quickly).

"Listen, mate-"

"Killian-"

They both speak at the same time, but David laughs, waving him on.

"Go ahead," he muses. "I have a feeling yours is much more important."

There's something in his voice, almost knowing, that has Killian thinking Henry had already told the Prince.

"Did Henry..." he trails off.

David laughs, but he shakes his head too.

"No, just something he'd hinted at earlier in the week." A pause. "And honestly, I expected this to happen straight away when you returned from the Underworld." A shrug, and then, "Quite surprised it took you this long, to be honest.

Killian gulps, "And?"

David smiles at him, "I suppose I'll hear the rest from my daughter, won't I?"

He opens his mouth to say something, he's not sure what, but the door to the loft bursts open, and Leroy is there (damn, he always seemed to be getting in the middle of his conversations), bright-eyed, and breathing heavy.

"They're here. They're back!" He's shouting, repeating it over and over again.

Henry is the first to leap up, "What?"

"The saviours back. The queen, Regina I mean, is with her. They're back."

It takes a moment to register, because she's back, she's here, but Henry is already out of the door.

(She's back.)


End file.
